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BOARD  OF  SUPERVISORS, 


APRIL  15,  1865, 
4  o'clock,  p.  M. 


PRESENT  : 
 Esq.,  President. 

Supervisors, 

James  Davis,  Sheridan  Shook,  /./ 

William  R.  Stewart,  Walter  Roche, 

Elijah  F.  Purdy, 

Orison  Blunt,  Andreas  Willmann. 

The  Board  met,  pursuant  to  the  following  call,  in  their 
Chamber,  No.  17  City  Hall : 

Board  op  Supervisors,  Office  No.  7  City  Hall,  \ 
New  York,  April  15,  1805.  \ 

AVe,  the  undersigned  members  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors of  the  County  of  New  York,  do  hereby  request 
Joseph  B.  Young,  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of 
said  County,  to  call  a  special  meeting  of  said  Board  of 
Supervisors  for  Saturday,  the  15th  instant,  at  four  o'clock, 
41 


April  15.  J  5 1 8 

p.  m.,  to  take  action  in  regard  to  the  calamity  that  lias  be- 
fallen the  nation  in  the  death  of  President  Lincoln. 

ELIJAH  F.  PURDY, 
WILLIAM  R.  STEWART, 
ORISON  BLUNT. 
JAMES  DAVIS, 
SHERIDAN  SHOOK, 
ANDREAS  WILLMANN, 
WALTER  ROCHE. 

In  the  absence  of  the  President,  Supervisor  Blunt  was 
called  to  the  Chair. 

On  motion,  the  said  call  was  approved. 

DECEASE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Supervisor  Purdy  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President — I  suppose  it  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to 
say  for  what  purpose  this  Board  has  been  convened.  The 
news  has  spread  with  the  wings  of  lightning  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  We  have  assembled  upon 
an  occasion  of  an  unusual  character,  such  as  has  never  been 
witnessed  by  the  American  people.  The  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  Republic  has  been  murdered  by  an  assassin.  I  hope  that 
the  murderer  is  not  of  the  manor  born  :  and  hope,  also,  he  is 
not  a  citizen  by  adoption.  It  is  disgraceful  to  the  American 
nation  to  contemplate  for  a  single  moment  that  anybody  be- 
longing to  this  country  would  commit  so  great  an  outrage 
upon  humanity,  and  upon  the  interests  of  the  whole  country. 
I  am  deeply  pained  to  make  this  announcement.  I  feel  that 
it  is  a  foul  disgrace,  that  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  nation 


519  [April  15. 

should  be  stricken  down.  If  it  shall  be  found  that  this 
damnable  outrage  has  been  instigated  by  European  emissa- 
ries, who,  jealous  of  the  mighty  power  of  America,  have 
given  aid  and  comfort  to  this  rebellious  crew,  then  to  a 
certainty  will  the  uprising  of  our  Union-loving  people  be  in- 
stantaneous, and  vengeance  will  be  theirs.  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  surrounded  with  difficulties  on  entering  upon  his  admin- 
istration, which  it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  overcome, 
and  yet  he  was  on  the  point  of  success  in  re-establishing  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws.  Not  only  that,  but  the  second 
in  command,  the  man  who  has  guided  the  helm  of  state  so 
successfully,  prostrated  as  he  was  by  an  accident  of  a  very 
melancholy  character,  was  attacked  in  his  sick  chamber 
by  the  assassin,  who  attempted  to  murder  his  assistant  as 
well  as  himself.  These  events  should  fill  every  American 
heart  with  gloom.  Mr.  President,  I  feel  alarmed  for  the 
country  ;  I  feel  as  though  we  were  now  groping  again  in 
the  dark  ;  I  feel  that  we  may  see  scenes  such  as  have  never 
been  seen  before.  The  war  was  ending,  but  suddenly  this 
new  scene  opened  before  us  ;  we  have  now  no  man  upon 
wliqm  the  country  can  rely  with  the  same  confidence  as 
upon  the  man  who  has  been  stricken  down,  and  should  we 
lose  the  Secretary  of  State,  what  would  become  of  this 
country?  Mr.  President,  I  think  I  can  truly  say  there  is 
no  man  in  existence,  to  my  knowledge,  that  can  occupy 
the  place  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  I  believe  I  can  say  that 
with  unquestioned  sincerity,  for  no  man  can  say  that  1  did 
anything  towards  his  election  to  the  Presidency.  But  1 
do  believe  that  there  is  no  man  who  is  so  stroiis;  in  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  who  is  more  earnest  to  do  right, 
and  so  anxious  to  do  justice  to  all  as  he.    But,  Mr.  Presi- 


April  15.] 


dent,  my  feelings  are  so  deep  that  I  cannot  give  them  ex- 
pression; how  truly  can  I  say,  that  a  great  man  has  this 
day  fallen  in  Israel.  I  feel  that  my  time  also  has  nearly 
come.    Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  following  : 

Whereas,  The  startling  intelligence  reaches  us  from 
Washington  that  President  Lincoln,  the  head  of  the 
American  nation,  is  no  more,  having  been  basely  assas- 
sinated on  the  evening  of  the  14th  inst. ;  and 

Whereas,  The  horrible  crime  of  assassination  of  officers 
high  in  authority,  which  has  caused  this  sorrowful  event, 
has  never  before  disgraced  the  pages  of  American  history, 
the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  people  having  always  been 
cheerfully  acquiesced  in,  prior  to  the  rebellion  a{  the 
Southern  States,  with  a  unanimity  that  has  formed  the 
strongest  bond  of  republican  unity,  and  the  surest  guaran- 
tee of  the  perpetuation  of  our  liberties  ;  and 

Whereas,  This  fearful  crime  and  shocking  calamity  have 
occurred  just  at  the  moment  when  every  patriot's  heart 
was  full  of  joy  at  the  glorious  victories  won  by  the  Union 
arms,  and  at  the  prospect  of  an  early  and  lasting  peace  to 
our  beloved  country — triumphs  which  gladden  and  cheer.an 
American,  and  which  bid  fair  to  present  to  the  nations  of 
the  earth  a  happy,  united,  and  powerful  people — triumphs 
resulting  mainly  from  the  honest,  devoted,  pure,  patriotic 
energies  of  him  whose  untimely  end  the  nation  mourns  ;  and 

Whereas,  We,  in  common  with  our  fellow-citizens,  suffer 
the  terrible  shock,  an.d  our  hearts  swell  with  undissembled 
grief  at  the  calamity  which  has  been  permitted  to  befall 
us  in  the  sudden  death  of  our  Chief  Magistrate — no  such 


521 


[April  15. 


pang  of  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  a  beloved  public  officer  hav- 
ing ever  occurred  in  the  history  of  this  country ; 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  receives  with  unfeigned  emo- 
tion and  deep  solemnity  the  dire  and  heart-rending  intelli- 
gence of  the  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States;  and  that  while  we  truly  sympathize  with 
the  family  and  relatives  of  the  deceased  in  their  sudden 
and  irreparable  bereavement,  and  deeply  deplore  the  sad 
event,  we  fervently  unite  with  our  fellow-citizens  through- 
out the  country  and  nation  in  expressing  the  deep-rooted 
sorrow  which  pervades  all  hearts  at  the  loss  of  one  who 
had  peculiarly  signalized  his  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  his  great  office,  and  who  has  enshrined  himself  in  the 
heart  of  every  patriot  and  well-wisher  of  his  country  by 
the  purity  of  his  private  character,  and  by  the  elevated 
position  in  which  he  had  been  placed  by  the  voice  of  the 
American  people. 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  will  participate  in  a  suitable 
demonstration  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  late  Presi- 
dent; that  the  Chamber  of  the  Board  be  hung  in  black  for 
ninety  days  ;  and  that  the  members  of  this  Board  wear 
the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  the  same  period. 

Resolved,  That  the  officers  of  the  Board  be  requested  to 
transmit  a  copy  of  this  preamble  and  resolutions  to  the 
sorrow-stricken  family  of  the  deceased,  and  cause  the  same 
to  be  published. 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  four  be  appointed  to 
facilitate  any  arrangements  which  may  be  deemed  advisa- 
ble for  a  suitable  manifestation  of  respect  for  the  memory 
of  the  lamented  and  illustrious  deceased. 


April  1;VJ 


522 


Resolved^  That  all  County  officers  1  >o  requested  to  close 
their  offices  until  after  the  obsequies. 

Supervisor  Davis  seconded  the  adoption  of  the  above, 
and  spoke  as  follows  : 

I  rise  for  the  purpose  of  seconding  these  resolutions, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  attempting  to  pass  any  eulogy  upon 
the  deceased.  I  feel  that,  if  I  were  competent  to  deliver 
a  eulogy  upon  the  character  of  him  whose  loss  we  are 
called  upon  to  mourn,  my  feelings  upon  this  occasion  arc 
such  that  I  cannot  bring  my  mind  to  the  subject.  It  is 
truly  said  in  these  resolutions  (and  they  seem  to  cover  the 
whole  ground  of  what  need  be  said  upon  an  occasion  of 
this  kind),  that  such  an  event  has  never  before  occurred  in 
our  history.  In  other  countries  and  under  other  govern- 
ments, similar  events  have  occurred,  but  in  this  country 
never.  We  arc  not  now  able  to  bring  our  minds  to  con- 
template the  vast  results  which  may  ensue,  so  as  fully  to 
understand  the  great  loss  that  we  have  suffered.  We  can 
only  bow  in  submission  to  the  stroke,  and  put  our  trust  in 
God  for  the  future.  That  we  have  suffered  an  overwhelm- 
ing loss,  however,  the  gloom  which  pervades  this  whole 
community,  the  melancholy  appearance  of  the  buildings 
draped  in  mourning,  the  flags  floating  at  half-mast,  and  the 
subdued  manner  in  which  this  event  is  alluded  to,  indicate 
that  the  public  mind  is  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact,  that 
a  great  and  good  man  has  fallen  in  the  discharge  of  duty, 
lie  has  fallen  a  martyr  to  the  principles  which  have  guided 
him  in  his  public  acts.  His  country  will  feel  its  loss,  will 
mourn  at  his  untimely  end  ;  but  history  will  record  his 


523 


[April  15. 


name  high  upon  the  record  of  the  benefactors  of  his  race, 
and  the  nation  will  reap  the  fruits  of  the  rich  legacy  he 
has  bequeathed  to  it.  It  is  proper  that  the  action  which 
these  resolutions  contemplate  should  be  taken,  and  that  the 
members  of  this  Board  should  co-operate  with  the  other 
departments  of  the  City  and  General  Government  in  pay- 
ing due  honor  to  the  memory  of  him  whose  loss  we  are 
called  upon  on  this  occasion  to  deplore.  I  second  the  reso- 
lutions with  feelings  of  deep  solemnity,  and  trust  that  they 
will  be  properly  engrossed,  and  a  copy  transmitted  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased. 

The  resolutions  were  then  unanimously  adopted. 

Supervisors  Purdy,  Stewart,  Roche,  and  Shook  were  ap- 
pointed a  Special  Committee  to  carry  out  the  object  of  the 
resolutions. 

Supervisor  Stewart  presented  the  following,  viz.  : 

Whereas,  The  shocking  intelligence  has  been  communi- 
cated that  the  assassination  of  Hon.  William  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State,  was  attempted  in  Washington,  about 
the  same  time  that  President  Lincoln  met  his  untimely 
end  ;  and 

Whereas,  He  now  lies  in  a  critical  condition,  resulting 
from  the  shameful  and  disgraceful  act ;  as  also  his  son 
Frederick,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  who  attempted  to 
prevent  the  commission  of  the  murderous  deed  ;  and 

Whereas,  The  Honorable  the  Secretary  of  State  has  been 
intimately  associated  with  President  Lincoln  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  public  affairs  of  this  country  for  the 


April  15.] 


524 


last  tour  years,  assisting  and  advising  in  regard  to  the  ac- 
coruplishment  of  those  glorious  triumphs  which  have  caused 
the  nation  to  joyfully  exult ;  and 

Whereas^  Mr.  Seward,  by  his  marked  ability,  his  long 
experience  in  public  affairs,  has  stamped  himself  as  one  of 
the  greatest  statesmen  of  modern  times,  and  his  extensive 
knowledge  and  research  have  been  invaluable  during  the 
crisis  from  which  the  country  has  nearly  emerged  ;  there- 
fore 

It  caul  ci<l,  That  we  sincerely  and  earnestly  pray  that  the 
Almighty,  in  His  infinite  wisdom,  may  spare  the  life  of 
one  who  is  an  ornament  to  the  republican  institutions  of 
our  country,  that  his  long-tried  ability  and  unquestioned 
devotion  to  the  country,  may  yet  serve  the  American 
people  in  many  an  emergency. 

Resolved^  That  we  cordially  sympathize  with  the  family 
and  relatives  of  Mr.  Seward  in  the  affliction  which  he  and 
they  are  called  upon  to  bear,  and  trust  that  their  hearts 
may  be  gladdened  by  the  speedy  recovery  to  health  and 
strength  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son  Frederick. 

Which  were  unanimously  adopted. 

The  absent  members  were  allowed  to  record  their  votes 
on  the  adoption  of  the  above  resolutions. 

On  motion,  the  Board  then  adjourned,  out  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  the  illustrious  deceased. 


JOSEPH  B.  YOUNG, 

Clerk 


